Abbess Man Shin as Royal Police College Patron
In early 2010, Abbess Man Shin of IBA New Zealand was elected as the New Zealand Police college patron for wing 261. On the 1st of February, she was invited to attend the welcome ceremony in Wellington. Present at the welcoming ceremony were Superintendent Mike Wilson, Superintendent Wallace Haumaha, Inspector Lindsay Duncan, Sergeant Christopher Blanchard, Maori Chiefs and 41 new recruit police students. After the ceremony, Abbess gave her first speech to the wing 261 recruits.
Every year the New Zealand Royal Police College elects 8 people from the community to become lifetime patrons. Election is based on aspects such as their Contribution to society, integrity, ethics and ability to become the lifetime patron. This will inspire and motivate the newly recruited police to become an enthusiastic and excellent police officer. Former Police department strategy advisor, Mr. Kefeng Chu, recommended Abbess to become one of the patrons. Given that Abbess had qualifies in every aspect required of a patron (as mentioned earlier), she was nominated as the first Buddhist female venerable patron in New Zealand.
Among these 41 new recruits in wing 261, there are 27 males and 14 females with an average age of 26. The recruits had origins from around the nation and amongst them were 10 Asian recruits. These new recruits will be trained for 4 months and will later be assigned to the Manukau City police department, where they will serve their roles in promoting the safety of the community.
Abbess Man Shin and wing 261 recruits had a talk to understand each other in a casual and comfortable manner. Some recruit officers were curious and were asking questions around the abbess’s background, how she joined the Buddhism, what is the meaning of the venerable’s cassock and the meaning of the 108 praying bean. Abbess shared her experience on her study life at the Fo Guang College with the fellow recruits. She also encouraged everyone to participate in the activity with heart, and absorb the knowledge like sponge. She further advised them that after graduating, they should give and share the knowledge that they learnt and benefit the community; she also shared with the recruits insights about the mind education, which is applicable to whatever problem they face. We must always use positive thinking and attitude to face the challenge and enrich our life experience with saying good words, doing good thing and always have kind thinking in our mind. With this mindset, criminal rating will reduce within our community.
Abbess’s speech not only effectively boosted the recruits’ faith and motivation to become a responsible police officer but it also sparked their interest in Buddhism. The New Zealand Royal Police College indicated that in the next few weeks, they will arrange a trip to the IBT temple in Manukau to allow the wing 261 recruits experience the significance of mind education.